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2. a. What about your professional experiences has led you to determine that business school is the right next step? (150 words) b. As you have researched MBA programs, what actions have you taken to learn more about Ross and what has led you to believe that Ross is the right MBA program for you? (150 words) c. What career do you plan to pursue after business school and why? (150 words)

3. Describe a time in your career when you were frustrated or disappointed. What advice would you give to a colleague who was dealing with a similar situation? (400 word maximum)

4. Optional question: Is there anything not addressed elsewhere in the application that you would like the Admissions Committee to know about you to evaluate your candidacy? (300 word maximum)

Recommendation Questions

1. Please comment on the context of your interaction with the applicant. If applicable, briefly describe the applicant's role in your organization.

2. How does the candidate's performance compare to other well-qualified individuals in similar roles?

3. What behavioral areas have you identified as the applicant's areas for growth? How would you describe the applicant's awareness of, and efforts to address, these areas?

4. Please provide any additional comments about the applicant's performance, potential, or personal qualities you believe would be helpful to the Admissions Committee.

In for Round 1! I visited the campus recently, and that has helped solidify Ross' place on my application list. I highly recommend you visit if you're on the fence with applying to Ross. _________________

Unlike applicants for the 2013 academic year, who were asked to describe their career goals and how an MBA from Ross will help them achieve those goals, school spokesperson Tamra Talmadge-Anderson says applicants for 2014 will encounter a three-part question: What about your professional experience has led you to determine that business school is the right next step? As you have researched MBA programs, what actions have you taken to learn more about Ross, and what has led you to believe that Ross is the right MBA program for you? What career do you plan to pursue after business school, and why? Each part has a 150-word limit.

An essay from last year—asking applicants what they’re most passionate about and why—has been eliminated.

Two other required essays have not changed. One asks applicants to introduce themselves to their classmates in 100 words or less. The other asks applicants to describe a time in their careers when they were frustrated or disappointed, and what advice they would give to a colleague dealing with a similar situation.

An optional essay, giving applicants an opportunity to discuss anything not addressed elsewhere in the application, has also not changed, but the length has been reduced to a maximum of 300 words, from 500 last year.

2. Multi-part question: What about your professional experiences has led you to determine that business school is the right next step? (150 words) As you have research MBA programs, what actions have you taken to learn more about Ross and what has led you to believe that Ross is the right MBA program for you? (150 words) What career do you plan to pursue after business school and why? (150 words)

3. Describe a time in your career when you were frustrated or disappointed. What advice would you give a colleague who was dealing with a similar situation? (400 word maximum)

4. Optional question: is there anything not addressed elsewhere in the application that you would like the Admissions Committee to know about you to evaluate your candidacy? (300 word maximum)

I’ll start by saying the Ann Arbor is a fantastic town. I have been to a few “college towns” before, and A-squared doesn’t disappoint. From the people I met to the perfect spring day to endless school spirit, Ann Arbor is a special place. Unlike my Darden visit, I don’t have any recommendations on where to stay at Ross, as I was fortunate enough to be staying with a friend for the trip, but there are a number of hotels in the area, and the campus is very walkable. I actually walked a fair amount on this visit, as I wanted to see some hotspots like Zingermans, the Big House, Burton Memorial Tower (I’m an architecture nerd), the Diag, and of course Ross.

Amongst my walkathon, I had also scheduled meetings with current students at Ross, to help me really get a feel for campus life, recruiting, and academics. True to what I had heard previously, Ross students were more than willing to go out of their way to sit down with me, and scheduling meetings was painless. Furthermore, students were more than willing to talk about Ross candidly, rather than giving me the glass-half-full perspective. Now, there wasn't too much negative said, but it was very helpful to have what seemed to be 100% honesty. The first meeting I had was with a first year student who was interning at a lower-end-bulge bracket bank – that is to say not JP Sachs, but rather something like Royal Bank of Fargo. I soon learned, that he chose this bank due to lifestyle and location constraints, not out of a lack of options. I was told that there were ~ 70 people going for banking in his class, with many receiving at least one offer. Sounds good so far. From there, we also talked about clubs and lifestyle at Ross. I was surprised to learn that he thinks most of the benefits as far as on campus recruiting come through clubs, rather than career services.. interesting. Beyond that, we chatted a bit about the culture of students there. Being a very large institution, I was curious to know how the MBAs interacted with the undergrads with whom they share a campus and a building with. From what I can tell, there is something for everyone at Ross. If you want to drink 5 nights a week and go on vacation every weekend there are people who will be there with you. Contrarily, if you’re looking to get perfect grades, end up at McKBain Group, and explore classes at a few of the other graduate schools at Michigan there will be people there with you. And obviously, if you’re looking for something more balanced, there will be plenty of MBAs along with you. One of the other things I learned from students there was that MAP is really an amazing thing. Surely you can go and read on UM’s website about the program, but hearing individual experiences of students that were in the process of finishing up their respective project was very interesting. I think MAP is a very big plus for someone who is thinking of attending Ross.

Aside from talking with the ever helpful students, I had a good bit of time to scope out the building. First things first, the building is amazing. It has 6 floors with plenty of study rooms, as well as a large atrium where many students congregate. The building is LEED bronze silver certified, which, if you’re into sustainability, you’ll find pretty cool. It’s location on campus is great, requiring short walks to the bustling Diag as well as short walks and commutes to plenty of housing. The Big House is a 10 minute walk away. Classrooms are pretty standard, with amphitheater style seating for about 50 to go along with obligatory projectors and screens. One of the downsides to me, though, is that the building is shared with undergrads. I guess when Stephen Ross donated his famous $100 million to the university, he stipulated that the building be used for undergrads, or BBa’s as they’re known at Michigan, since Mr. Ross was a BBa himself. Not that I have a problem with undergrads, I just think that if I am paying six figures in tuition, I shouldn't be fighting for study room space with a freshman. Beyond that, the lovely gym in the basement isn’t included with tuition, which just rubs me the wrong way – why art thou seeking my nickles and dimes Ross?

Finally, I had an opportunity to sit in on one of three classes as I had signed up through the Visit In Person (VIP) program. Among my choices were, and I’m paraphrasing, a tax course, corporate strategy, or global strategy. On the recommendation of a student, I decided to go see global strategy with professor Karnani. Professor Karnani did a very good job of challenging the students positions on the issue at hand, often seemingly playing one student off of another to force the students to defend their position. My one quip, however, is that out of the 50 students in class, only about a dozen participated, with another 10-20 seemingly interested in the subject at hand. Perhaps we can chalk that up to the fact that MAP was ending and students were preoccupied with that, or that it was the end of the semester, and one of their last classes. Either way, just something I noticed. To be fair, the students who were active were well spoken, and raised excellent points. I left at the break after the first hour of class, and professor Karnani informed me that the second half would be wrap up for the course, and I probably wouldn’t get too much out of it. I was more than welcomed to stay, but I took the opportunity to get a head start on my drive home.

In conclusion, I had a really good visit at Ross. While I won’t go into ranking my preferences, I am certain Ross deserves a spot in my first round application list. While the school is different from Darden, it isn’t different in a bad way. There is a lot going for the program, and it is definitely somewhere I would be thrilled to attend. If you are at all thinking about applying, and able to get to Ann Arbor, DO IT. I’m not sure what the impact would be on your application, but visiting always provides you some essay fodder through interactions with staff and students. Furthermore, seeing the campus really helps you figure out if it is a good fit for you. After all, it is 2 years of your life that you will be spending here, you had better make sure you’re OK with it.

Overall, I had a very positive visit, and it helped solidify my choice to apply there. _________________

Non-availability of co-signor free loans to international students worries me a lot..but still i'm in for R1.

I feel the same Amit, but Ross has a good tradition in terms of Financial Aid being offered. As per Business Week, 75% of the students requested aid, and they have received some. Of course, how much of what they expected is unclear, but something is truly better than nothing when it comes to scholarships

I am getting ready for my GMAT. Hope I'd have enough time for the apps. Really looking forward to applying and scoring a college this year!

Non-availability of co-signor free loans to international students worries me a lot..but still i'm in for R1.

I feel the same Amit, but Ross has a good tradition in terms of Financial Aid being offered. As per Business Week, 75% of the students requested aid, and they have received some. Of course, how much of what they expected is unclear, but something is truly better than nothing when it comes to scholarships

I am getting ready for my GMAT. Hope I'd have enough time for the apps. Really looking forward to applying and scoring a college this year!

Regards,A

I'm not sure about the how much will the scholarships help..Considering the free fall of Rupee these days..paying in dollars after taking an Indian loan is not gonna be fine. Anyways funding obviously comes much later.. its the GMAT first and then the apps..I'm in for R1 _________________